Aston Villa’s Champions League dream continues on Wednesday as they travel to PSG for the first-leg of their quarter-final tie.
The Villans have surpassed all expectations to reach the last-eight and having defeated Bayern Munich in the league stage, they will have no fears of taking on a European heavyweight.
Paris Saint-Germain are dark horses for the trophy after knocking out Premier League champions-elect Liverpool on penalties in the last round.
Unai Emery cannot focus his attention on any one competition however, with his side just two points off the Premier League top-four and through to the FA Cup semi-finals where they’ll take on Crystal Palace.
It’s just as well then that Villa have hardly any injury issues, with just two players sidelined for Saturday’s 2-1 win over Nottingham Forest.
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Ross Barkley has been out since January with a calf problem while Leon Bailey, who scored and assisted in the last-16 triumph over Club Brugge, has also missed the last few games with an unknown injury.
Emery has confirmed that both players are back in training, meaning they could feature from the bench in Paris.
The manager made eight changes to his side against Forest, with the likes of Marcus Rashford, Ezri Konsa and Jacob Ramsey on the bench, perhaps with an eye on starting them in the Champions League.
And in a huge boost, UEFA rules state that Marco Asensio is available for selection despite being on loan from PSG. The attacking midfielder has eight goals in 11 Villa appearances.
Donyell Malen started and scored against Forest but will play no part in Paris after being left out of Villa’s Champions League squad in favour of Rashford and Asensio.
As for PSG, the French giants wrapped up the Ligue 1 title on Saturday and are just seven games away from completing an unbeaten league and cup double.
The Champions League remains their most coveted prize however and their shock win at Anfield shows Luis Enrique’s side can never be underestimated.
Whoever progresses to the semi-finals will take on the victor of Arsenal vs Real Madrid.
Predicted Aston Villa XI to face PSG
Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne, Kamara, Tielemans, Ramsey, Rogers, Rashford, Watkins
Where to watch PSG vs Aston Villa? Kick-off time and TV channel
The first-leg of the Champions League quarter-final between Aston Villa and PSG kicks-off at 8pm on Wednesday, April 9.
The match will be broadcast live on TNT Sports 1 and streamed on discovery+, with coverage starting at 7pm.
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